My name is Victor Greywolf. I am a writer, low budget filmmaker and actor. I’ve produced a hit one man show that won awards in three festivals and premiered in two. I also produced a biography documentary and two more stand up shows. A lot of people get inspired by watching movies on television or the internet, but some of us decide to actually give it a shot. Sometimes, watching a movie inspires you to pursue a dream of sorts, and that is what makes us who we are, as people. I was inspired by a lot of movies and television shows, and that is what got me to start making my own. A lot of people will tell you that you can’t make a movie on your own because you don’t have a known name or you are not famous or you don’t have millions of dollars or you don’t have the right political connections. For those of us who have done it, we know those excuses are nothing but a bunch of bull crap, and that’s being polite to the naysayers. Thanks to technological advancements, books and the internet, it is easier than ever to make a low budget movie. All you really need is a script, along with actors who are willing to work, for either free or low money. Most importantly, go out and just do the job! When your film is finished, research places to submit it. Try submitting to film festivals, since they are the latest craze. Film festivals give those in the movie business a chance to see your film. Also, look into film contests. I know a lot of artists are very frustrated. Being out there is hard, especially with the fact that unless you know...

As you know, I had a wonderful time at Portland’s first-ever Documentary Weekend. I had such a wonderful time that I wrote a post about my experience the day after it was over. I’m super-excited that Perry Gruber, co-founder of Documentary Weekend with Mark Grimes, agreed to meet with me and discuss the project from a founder’s perspective. I asked Perry Gruber to tell me about Documentary Weekend: “It’s a gorilla-style filmmaking event for anyone, not just for people interested in film. Some people had no experience whatsoever; some had lots of experience from traditional backgrounds. Over the course of a day-and-a-half, individuals form into teams, they’re assigned a topic and then they pre-produce, shoot, edit, produce and premiere their very own documentary in 30 hours. The fast-paced nature keeps it really energetic and exciting.” According to Perry, “The vision behind Documentary Weekend is that we’re looking to do something that’s new, that’s interesting and that’s never been done before. This is one idea that we came up with among a large number of other ideas that we’re implementing.” So, how did documentary weekend match up with their original vision? “Documentary Weekend met every one of our original ideas. When we first started talking about it, we were concerned that the idea would not live up to what we eventually want to see happen, which is to expand around the world. We want people who are not affiliated with us to be able to launch their own Documentary Weekends, without worrying about getting a license, and generate content at their local community level, with support from Mark and I and this network of people interested in seeing creativity come to the big screen.” I asked Perry Gruber what stood out for him as the...